Hockey Trade Rumours: Blackhawks Exploring Trade for High-Impact Center to Strengthen Lineup Behind Bedard

GM Kyle Davidson has been phoning, but to date, there has been no success as the team moves past its rebuild and into a more retool mentality. According to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period and Elliotte Friedman of "32 Thoughts," Chicago is putting a lot of effort into finding a center in the top six, which the Calgary Flames are also rumored to be pursuing.

According to Friedman, the Blackhawks share the same goals and requirements as the Nashville Predators and Calgary Flames in terms of acquiring a new center.

Given that they have $4.5 million in cap space, the Blackhawks are undoubtedly financially flexible enough to add talented players to the roster. Davidson has demonstrated that he is not afraid to take risks, and the team should ideally be contending for a Stanley Cup Playoff berth as early as this season.

When the Blackhawks entered free agency last July, they addressed every position except for the second-line center, at least from the outside. After training camp, they hoped that young prospect Frank Nazar would step in, but he was sent to Rockford, where he is already playing well, after failing to make the cut. The Blackhawks appear to be waiting for a long-term solution to their center depth issue, though.

It's interesting to note that the team has some options going forward because Chicago's pipeline is full of potential centers like Oliver Moore, Ryan Greene, and Ilya Safonov, among others. As players like Athanasiou and Kurashev approach the expiration of their current contracts and consider their long-term prospects with the team, it becomes an intriguing situation.

The other name being floated is Trevor Zegras, a forward for the Anaheim Ducks who has been linked to the Blackhawks since the previous season. Zegras plays similarly to Nazar, but some scouts think he has more offensive potential because he had two seasons with 23 goals in the minor leagues. Although acquiring the former second-round pick could be expensive, he can contribute to the depth team.

We'll have to wait and see how far along trade negotiations are in Chicago early in the season, but it's highly likely that teams won't make any big roster decisions-especially in the trade market-until the American Thanksgiving holiday in November.